The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-09-22
ON SLEEpLESSNESS.
A BRIEF MEDICAL LECTURE IN AN
ELEVATED CAR.

A Physician Discourses of Insomnia and
Its Causes, and Gives Somo Good Adj
vice-several Popular Notions Shown
to be Erroneous.
Two men were in an elevated car on
their way down town to business. The
man next to the reporter turned to his
neighbor with the question:
"Did you sleepany last night?"
'sNo; did your
~ did, about three hours. When l
woke up felt more tired than when lay
down."
eyes, it's pretty hard this summer for
people who have to stay in the broiling
city. But from all hear, the folks in
the country are not doing much better.
NV wife's letters are full of mosquitoes
and slceplessness.
"Gentlemen," broke In man With
gold trimmed spectacles, who looked the
physician every inch Of him, and around
the corners of whose bearded mouth q
humorous smile had been fitting during
the dialogue, "thls talk Of sleeplessness
proves how seldom people will take
medical mans advice, or even ask for 1t.
It's so simple to induce sleep, with very
little trouble, that every man Of intelli-
gence can obtain it unless he be O very
sick man indeed"
s'WeI, SIR" rejoincd the last speaker,
s'if you will crafty our curiosity that far,
tell Us your remedy"
"As to mosquitoes my advice Is: Kill
them before you go to bed, Sleep where
there is O current Of air and have mus
quito netting around the bed, but leave
yourself plenty of breathing space. II
suffering much from the heat, take a
cooling bath before retiring. find, how
ever, that this talk Of sleeplessness comes
in nine cases out Of ten from persons OF
an unduly nervous temperament. They
f1dget about and imagine beforehand that
they will not obtain sleep instead of COM
posing their minds to properly receive
the soothing influence.
SEVERAL POPULAR ERRORS.
'If given at all to sleeplessness do not
smoke In the evening, and do not excite
yourself. Lie down with tho firm reso-
luton to sleep, and sleep will come quite
naturally, provided the body requires it.
There's the rub. A great many people
think there is cast iron rule as to the
number of hours they ought to sleep.
That's all wrong. Never try to sleep
unless you feel tired and notice that your
system wants II. Four hours of sleep,
under certain conditions, are more ben
eilcial to man than the proverbial nine
hours. I've had many cases In my prac-
tice which have shown me the folly of
expecting so many hours of sleep night
III and night out.
'sIt's the same with sleep as with food.
The appetite varies, and 30 does the desire
for sleep. Nature knows her business
best, and when q man cannot sleep he very
often ought not to sleep. A fcw weeks
ago.. well known business man came to
me and wanted opiates to give him back
his usual dose Of sleep. satisfied myself
pretty soon that 1t would be only doing
harm To comply with his request. There
was nothing troubling his mind, and his
health was. good. He. simply had the
notion that he didn't get sleep enough, and
had begun to worry about it. I gave him
few simple rules to observe, and he soon
had once more all the sleep that was good
for him without using any poisonous mar
cotics.
"Judging from my experience, the need
Of sleep is-very different in different per-
sons, even among those of like habits and
equally good health. Iknow very active
business man, q patient Of mine, who re-
quifes but six hours sleep, while another
one needs all of eleven hours out Of the
twenty-four..''
sssCity hall and Brooklyn bridge" !"
shouted the guard, and everybody
scrambled. for the door, while the audience
murmured: Much obliged for the lecture,
doctor. New York Commercial Adver-